JP2558148B2 - Pneumatic transfer device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pneumatic conveying device that conveys an object to be conveyed to a receiving device on the conveying end side so as to be softly attached thereto.

<Prior Art> Conventionally, as a means for transferring a workpiece made of a relatively heavy metal material, which has been pressed by a machine tool or the like, to the next process, a shout or a method of utilizing rolling, sliding, etc. due to the weight of the workpiece or BACKGROUND ART Actuators have been widely used, which operate a roller conveyor device, a cylinder, a motor, and the like to check and transfer a workpiece.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> However, in the case of the conventional transfer device as described above, the transfer speed of the workpiece, which is the transferred object, cannot be controlled in the former case, so that the transferred object is not moved at the transfer end position. Collided with the receiver,
Defects may occur on the transported object.

The latter is an actuator for transport,
There is a problem that a large space is required for the orbit of the slide, and that the apparatus becomes bulky and expensive, such as checking of an object to be transported, and further expensive at high speed transportation.

Note that, as a related technology of the transfer device, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
There is a single pipe reciprocating fluid transfer device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 153718.

This device includes a work head provided in a work area, one end of which is introduced into the work head and the other end of which is introduced into an examination area, and is connected to a fluid flow generation device so that a built-in capsule reciprocates with a fluid. At the same time, a communication hole is provided on the peripheral surface of one end and a discharge hole is formed at a distance from the communication hole in the longitudinal direction, and a fluid is sent from the communication hole of the air supply pipe to the discharge hole. A fluid introduction pipe provided in the working head for inflow, a fluid pressure control mechanism for controlling the pressure of the fluid introduced into the air feeding pipe, and a work head provided for discharging the fluid in the air feeding pipe from the discharge hole. And a capsule detection tube including a fluid sensor that communicates with the end of the communication hole of the pneumatic tube to detect a change in the fluid.

This fluid transporting device causes fluids for transporting and anti-transporting to flow in from both ends of the pneumatic tube, balances both fluid pressures at the discharge holes, and temporarily stops the transport capsule at that position. After that, the fluid on one end side is exhausted, the balance of both fluid pressures is broken, and the capsule is softly attached to the end of the pneumatic tube,
It is designed to be returned upon detection of the arrival of the capsule.

Therefore, during the transportation, the capsule is temporarily stopped and then the softening operation is started, which causes a problem that the capsule transportation time becomes long. In addition, since it is worn softly, a pump for pumping out fluid (flow pressure control mechanism) of the pneumatic tube is required, and there is a problem that the device becomes complicated.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to convey an object to be conveyed at a high speed and to convey a conveying device by air pressure that conveys the object to be softly attached to a receiving device. It is the one we are trying to provide.

<Means for Solving the Problems> The present invention has been made to achieve the above-mentioned object, and includes a sending device, a receiving device, and an air carrying pipe connected between the sending device, the receiving device, and the air carrying pipe. A pneumatic conveying device having an exhaust hole for discharging the air inside the pipe, and a reverse pressure nozzle for injecting reverse pressure air in a direction opposite to the direction of the conveyed object to the receiving device. And a presence / absence confirmation sensor provided in the delivery device for confirming the presence / absence of the transported object on the delivery device, and a presence / absence confirmation sensor provided in the receiving device for confirming the presence / absence of the transported object on the receiving device. A passage confirmation sensor which is provided in the vicinity of the exhaust hole of the air conveyance pipe and confirms the passage of the object to be conveyed, and a reverse application which operates based on a signal from the passage confirmation sensor and ejects from the reverse pressure nozzle. Direction to reduce compressed air A reverse pressure control means for controlling, and after confirming that there is an object to be conveyed on the delivery device and no object to be conveyed on the receiving device, The pneumatic conveying device is characterized in that it can be conveyed in one direction to the receiving device.

<Operation> The present invention is configured as described above, and the transferred object inserted into the air transfer pipe from the sending device has the transferred object on the sending device and the transferred object on the receiving device. After it is confirmed that there is nothing, it is carried to the downstream side by carrying air. When the transported object is on the upstream side of the exhaust hole, the reverse pressure air from the reverse pressure nozzle is discharged from the exhaust hole.

When the transported object passes the position of the passage confirmation sensor, the reverse pressurization control means starts operating based on the signal from the passage confirmation sensor.

When the transported object passes through the exhaust hole, the transported air is discharged from the exhaust hole, the transported object continues to move in the transport direction due to inertia, and receives the reverse pressure air of the reverse pressure nozzle to decelerate. Then, the reverse pressurizing nozzle is controlled by the reverse pressurizing control means to reduce the reverse pressurizing air flow rate in response to the deceleration of the transported object, and the transported object gradually decreases the moving speed thereof and the receiving device. Wear on top.

<Embodiment> An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are explanatory views showing a pneumatic conveying device according to the present invention, and an overall structural view of an embodiment. An air conveying pipe having an exhaust hole 2 in the middle of a pipeline and a passage confirmation sensor 3 is provided. 1
And a delivery device 10 provided at the starting end of the air carrying tube 1,
A receiving device provided at the terminal end of the air carrying pipe 1, having a reverse pressure nozzle 22 and having a reverse pressure control means 30.
A pneumatic conveying device is provided with 20 or the like.

The air carrying pipe 1 is made of synthetic resin pipe material in the embodiment,
It is formed in a shape that matches the transport path.

An exhaust hole 2 penetrating the inside and outside of the pipe is provided in the middle of the air carrying pipe 1, and in the vicinity of the upstream side of the exhaust hole 2,
The passage confirmation sensor 3 is provided.

The passage confirmation sensor 3 is an electromagnetic sensor in the embodiment, is provided outside the air carrying pipe 1, and is electrically connected to a control device 40 described later. Then, it is formed so as to output an electric signal each time the transported object 5 passes through the opposing air transport pipes 1.

The delivery device 10 has a delivery portion 11 that can move up and down to close the start end portion of the air delivery pipe 1.
Is provided with a transport nozzle 12 that is opened in the delivery direction.
Further, the delivery unit 11 is provided with a presence / absence confirmation sensor 13 composed of an electromagnetic sensor, and the presence / absence confirmation sensor 13 is a control device.
The object 5 to be conveyed is electrically connected to 40,
It is formed so as to detect whether or not it is placed on the delivery unit 11.

Further, a supply line 50 from a high-pressure air source (not shown) is connected to the transfer nozzle 12 via a solenoid valve 51, and the solenoid valve 51 is controlled by the control device 40 to open and close the flow path. ing.

The receiving device 20 has a receiving portion 21 that can move up and down to close the end portion of the air conveying pipe 1, and the receiving portion 21 has the conveyed object 5
Reverse pressure nozzle 22 that injects air in the direction opposite to the transport direction of
Is provided. A reverse pressurizing control means 30 is connected to the reverse pressurizing nozzle 22 so as to control the reverse pressurizing air flow rate.

In the embodiment, the reverse pressurization control means 30 is composed of a solenoid valve composed of a proportional solenoid 31 in which the magnitude of the electric current is proportional to the attraction force, and a control valve 35 integrated with the proportional solenoid 31, and the proportional solenoid 31 controls the solenoid. It is electrically connected to the device 40 and is configured to adjust the flow rate of air supplied to the reverse pressure nozzle 22.

The reverse pressurizing control means 30 includes an iron core 33 of a proportional solenoid 31.
The spool 36 connected to the iron core 33 is configured to control the opening area of the outlet 39 of the sleeve 37 by the balance between the suction force F1 and the reaction force F2 of the return spring 34. The inlet 38 is connected to the supply line 50, and the spool 36 moves according to the magnitude of the current applied to the coil 32, and is formed so as to control the air flow rate of the outlet 39 connected to the reverse pressure nozzle 22. Has been done.

The relationship between the current applied to the coil 32 of the reverse pressurization control means 30 and the opening area of the outlet 39 has a relative relationship as shown in FIG. 4, for example. As shown in Fig. 5, decrease with time,
It is set to gradually reduce the air flow rate. In addition, the receiving section 21 is provided with a presence / absence confirmation sensor 23 composed of an electromagnetic sensor.
It is formed so as to detect whether or not the transported object 5 that has been transported by being electrically connected to is on the receiving portion 21.

In the embodiment, the control device 40 includes a CPU that executes arithmetic processing according to a predetermined program, a ROM that stores a control program that defines the arithmetic means, and a readable and writable storage of each data related to the arithmetic processing. It is mainly composed of a micro computer with RAM.

Then, the confirmation signals from the passage confirmation sensor 3 and the presence / absence confirmation sensors 13 and 23 are processed, and the signal for moving the sending portion 11 and the receiving portion 21 up and down, the signal for driving the reverse pressurizing control means 30, the solenoid valve 51. It is configured to output a signal for driving to open and close.

On the other hand, the sending device 10 and the receiving device 20 of this carrying device are connected to the previous process and the next process via the transfer devices 15 and 25, respectively. The transfer devices 15 and 25 are provided with sandwiching portions 16 and 26 that are movable in the vertical and horizontal directions, respectively.
The object to be conveyed 5 is sandwiched by 26 and transferred onto the sending section 11 or taken out from the receiving section 21.

Next, the operation of the pneumatic conveying apparatus thus configured will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the transfer device is activated, the control device 40 is activated, the control program of the microcomputer is started after the initial set operation, and the transfer device 15 transfers the transferred object 5 onto the sending part 11 from the previous process. Reprint. At this time, the solenoid valve 51 and the reverse pressure control means 30 are in the closed state.

Then, in step 100, the control device 40 takes in the confirmation signal from the presence / absence confirmation sensor 13, proceeds to step 110 when it is determined that the transported object 5 is present, and repeats step 100 when it is not present. At step 110, a confirmation signal from the presence / absence confirmation sensor 23 is fetched, and when it is determined that the transported object 5 is not present on the receiving portion 21, the process proceeds to step 120, and when it is present, step 110 is repeated.

Then, at step 120, the delivery section 11 is raised and the transported object 5
Is inserted into the air carrying tube 1 and the starting end thereof is closed. At step 130, the receiving portion 21 rises to close the end portion of the air carrying pipe 1.

Next, at step 140, the reverse pressure control means 30 controls the control valve 3
5, the reverse pressure nozzle 22 injects reverse pressure air, and the reverse pressure air is discharged from the exhaust hole 2. In step 150, the solenoid valve 51 is opened and the carrier nozzle 12 injects carrier air. As a result, the transported object 5 receives the transport air and starts moving to the downstream side. Then, in step 160, the passage confirmation sensor 3 confirms the passage of the transported object 5. If there is a passage confirmation signal, the process proceeds to step 170, and if there is no passage confirmation signal, the process repeats step 160.

In step 170, the reverse pressurization control means 30 starts the control operation, and the transported object 5 passes through the position of the exhaust hole 2 and approaches the reverse pressurization nozzle 22 by inertia, and receives the reverse pressurization air. Start decelerating. The reverse pressurizing nozzle 22 has its air flow rate controlled by the reverse pressurizing control means 30, and the injected reverse pressurizing air is gradually increased with time and corresponding to the deceleration of the transported object 5. Decrease. Therefore, the transported object 5 gradually reduces the moving speed and is softly attached to the receiving portion 21. At this time, the carrier air from the carrier nozzle 12 is discharged from the exhaust hole 2.

Next, in step 180, the confirmation signal from the presence / absence confirmation sensor 23 is fetched, and if it is determined that the transported object 5 is present, the process proceeds to step 190, and if not, the process returns to step 170.

In step 190, the reverse pressurization control means 30 is closed to stop the reverse pressurization air injection from the reverse pressurization nozzle 22, and subsequently, in step 200, the solenoid valve 51 is closed and the transfer nozzle 12 is stopped. To stop the carrier air injection.

Next, at step 210, the receiving section 21 descends, and the receiving section 21
The upper transported object 5 is taken out to the next step by the transfer device 25. Then, in step 220, the sending unit 11 descends, and in step 230, it is determined whether or not there is a stop signal for stopping the operation of the transport device.If the determination is YES, the transport device stops operating, and if NO, the step is stopped. Return to 100 and repeat the above steps.

The present invention is not limited to the above description and illustrated examples, and its embodiment can be changed without departing from the technical idea of the present invention. For example, the air carrying tube may be made of metal, and in that case, the air carrying tube is provided with a glass window and equipped with a passage confirmation sensor consisting of an optical sensor to confirm the passage of the conveyed object. Good.

Further, the reverse pressurization control means may use an electric flow control valve that can be drive-controlled by a motor.

Further, the presence / absence confirmation sensor may be a limit switch that is turned on / off by contacting the protruding contact lever.

Further, even if the object to be conveyed is a capsule-shaped carrier capable of accommodating a work or the like, the same action and effect can be obtained.

<Effects of the Invention> As described above, the pneumatic conveying device of the present invention includes the sending device, the receiving device, and the air carrying pipe that connects them, and the air carrying pipe has an exhaust hole in the middle of the pipeline. And a receiving device having a reverse pressure nozzle, which is a pneumatic conveying device, and a presence / absence confirmation sensor for confirming the presence / absence of a transported object on the sending device, and a presence / absence of the transported object on the receiving device. Since the presence / absence confirmation sensor, the passage confirmation sensor provided in the middle of the air-conveying pipe, and the reverse pressure control means for reducing the reverse pressure air jetted from the reverse pressure nozzle are provided, It is possible to gradually reduce the conveying speed of the article and soften it on the receiving section. Therefore, a collision between the transported object and the receiving tool is avoided at the transport end position, and even a relatively heavy transported object can be transported without defects.

In addition, unlike the conventional example, the transported object is not stopped once during soft attachment, but the deceleration start by the reverse pressurization air and the deceleration control by the reduction of the reverse pressurization air are continuously performed. Can reach the receiving device.

Further, since the conveyance is performed by air pressure, high-speed conveyance is possible due to an increase in the amount of conveyance air, and the conveyed object is not scratched during the conveyance due to checking.

Furthermore, since the transfer path is formed of a pipe material, the degree of freedom in setting the transfer path is large and the space occupied by the transfer path can be reduced.

Further, since the transport path is only the pipe material and the third pneumatic system such as the pumping pump is not required, the device can be configured simply and the facility cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing a pneumatic conveying device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention device, FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a reverse pressurizing control means, and FIG. 4 is the same. FIG. 5 is a curve diagram showing an example of a change state of the opening area by the drive current of the reverse pressurization control means, FIG. 5 is a curve diagram showing a change state of the drive current by the time of the reverse pressurization control means, and FIG. FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of the control system of the invention device, and FIG. 7 is a flow chart for explaining the operation step of the invention device. 1 ... Air carrier pipe, 2 ... Exhaust hole, 3 ... Passage confirmation sensor, 10 ... Delivery device, 12 ... Transport nozzle, 20 ... Receiving device, 22 ... Reverse pressure nozzle, 30 ... Reverse Pressure control means.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A sending device, a receiving device, and an air carrying pipe connected between the sending device and the receiving device. The air carrying pipe has an exhaust hole for discharging the air in the pipe in the middle of the pipe line. A pneumatic pneumatic conveying device having a reverse pressure nozzle for injecting reverse pressure air in a direction opposite to the conveying direction of the conveyed object. Presence / absence confirmation sensor for confirming, presence / absence confirmation sensor provided in the receiving device for confirming presence / absence of the transported object on the receiving device, and passage of the transported object provided in the vicinity of the exhaust hole of the air transport pipe. And a reverse pressurization control unit that operates based on a signal from the pass verification sensor to control the reverse pressurizing air ejected from the reverse pressurizing nozzle in a decreasing direction, If there is an object to be transported on the delivery device, After it is confirmed that there is no object to be transferred on the receiving device, the object to be transferred on the sending device is configured to be transferred in one direction to the receiving device.